Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

Cherry is a company that gets much praise for their switches, yet at the same time seems to be almost unknown when it comes to keyboards. Doing what we do, we have known of them and their products for a while now, yet at the same time, this is only the second keyboard they have sent to us over the years. Even with limited first-hand knowledge on the full assortment of keyboards they have produced, we can tell you that they are not geared towards the gamer, which may be why they seem to lurk in the shadows as much as they do.

Just because a keyboard is not designed with gaming as the priority, does not in any way mean it cannot be used for such things. While Cherry does deliver a reliable solution to stay on the desk for years to come, they do cover things like backlighting and multimedia keys, which will suit most users just fine for options. You will lack things like Macro buttons, you may not get RGB LED lighting, and software for remapping may be limited or even non-present, but the bottom line is that for most gamers, a keyboard is a keyboard. Not everyone needs all of the extras, especially those in the workplace, and is where the more subdued Cherry XM Boards shine.

The Cherry MX Board 5.0 that we got last should not be overlooked. While this is not of the caliber as most of the aggressively shaped, super fancy, full-featured gaming solutions out there that we see all the time, it is a great keyboard none the less. From what we can gather there are seven versions of this keyboard, dependent on geographic locations. That being said, the only things that change are the layout and language the keys are presented in, as all versions are based on Cherry MX red switches. Solid build quality, aesthetics that work in any environment, and near silence of operation are what Cherry was most enveloped with while producing this keyboard, and we like what we find and urge you to stick it out and see what Cherry has for you this time.

In one of the most thorough charts we have seen for any product on the market, anything you need to know about the Cherry MX Board 5.0 can be had. Things start with what we are addressing about the various versions available, but the rest of the specifications are common to all versions. The housing of the keyboard is made of plastic, and while the bottom section and part of the top section are black, there is a textured silver ring that surrounds the layout of keys, which are black as well. The keyboard alone weighs in at 1060 grams, and there is also a tick rubberized wrist rest with adjustable legs, which weighs in at 420 grams to add on if desired. The cable length is 18. Meters and is covered in braided cloth. Storage and operating temperatures are shown, as well as the power consumption, just before we find the notation of the two-year warranty.

The keyboard uses a USB interface for the PC, and then we notice the symbols for product approval entities. In the box, you will get the keyboard, the wrist rest, and the operating instructions. Dimensionally the MX Board 5.0 is 464mm wide, 145mm from front to back, and without the feet raised, it stands 36mm tall. The wrist rest is much wider than the keyboard, it is 86.5mm deep, and flat on the table, it stands 36mm high. The Meat Time Between Failures is set to 80,000 hours, which is something like nine years. We also see that there are one billion cycles before failure as well. Each switch is rated for fifty million clicks, and in all of the designs, there are an additional four keys added to the standard 104-key layout.

The tricky part of this situation is that the Cherry MX Board 5.0 is a tough keyboard to find in the retail market, at least on this side of the pond. We do know that you can buy the keyboard right from Cherry, and the MSRP is set at €159.99. Typically that converts dollar to pound for us, which leaves the MX Board 5.0 in a good place compared to other products out there right now. We did find a couple of obscure listings inside of the US, and the price asked was a few more dollars than the MSRP, but if it were us, we would contact Cherry and grab the keyboard right from the source. As it sits, $160 for a mechanical keyboard not aimed at gaming has quite the hill to climb, but we do feel that Cherry put the right parts in the right combination to make anyone more than happy to have the Cherry MX Board 5.0 under their hands.

PRICING: You can find the product discussed for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link below to see real-time pricing for the best deal:

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